Well, it did not take long at all to pin the whole Veteran's Administration scheduling scandal on the VA secretary, Gen. Eric Shinseki as he became the highest-ranking casualty as he "resigned" today.
I put resigned in quotes because I do believe that that Gen. Shinseki was given the choice of being fired by the Dear Leader, President Obama, or resign.
Inexplicably, Gen Shinseki is being made the fall guy for a scandal that has been long in the making and a sad story of how the VA does not take the best care of all of our veterans.
Yes, Gen. Shinseki was at the helm as VA secretary for the whole Obama administration until today, but I can't lay this particular scandal all on him.
What it really is that the medical bureaucracy that is the VA is out of control and putting unrealistic goals on mid-level administrators.
And before anyone goes on the The VA has not been fully funded canard, under the Bush and Obama administrations, VA spending has gone up 235% since 2001 to today. Ed Morrissey takes us down the spending in the VA since 2001. And Team Obama has made sure to have double-digit budget increases in four out of the six annual budgets. And in the Morrissey report, he cites an article from John Merline at Investor's Business Daily explaining how much of those increases went to medical care and debunks a left-wing talking point that the VA budget has not kept up with the two most recent war theatres in the War Against Islamofacist Terror, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Now the scandal started to percolate at the Phoenix, Arizona VA hospital and that there were multiple scheduling lists. A real one that was on a computer and a fake one on paper. The fake one essentially was the Black Hole and where they might, or might not, actually schedule an appointment.
But even the real, computer schedule, had its problems.
This is from the link at The Arizona Republic:
July 2013:
In an e-mail exchange among employees at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, an employee questions whether administrators are improperly touting their Wildly Important Goals program as a success because it shows a dramatic reduction in wait times for patient appointments. "I think it's unfair to call any of this a success when veterans are waiting six weeks on an electronic waiting list before they're called to schedule their first PCP (primary-care provider) appointment," program analyst Damian Reese complains. "Sure, when their appointment was created, (it) can be 14 days out, but we're making them wait 6-20 weeks to create that appointment. That is unethical and a disservice to our veterans."
I highlight in particular the wait from the time a patient calls to schedule an appointment until the VA calls back to set an appointment. A call is made, the potential patient gives the pertinent information and gets a call back in six weeks. Assuming it is exactly six weeks, and it is every day and not just "working days", Monday through Friday, that is 42 days. Count only work days and add 12 days to the 42 and it could be as long as 54 days until and actual appointment is set. And that is the low end. If it is the 20 weeks out using the same formula, a potential patient is waiting up to 140 days or as long as 180 days just to see a doctor.
Now with the paper list, the reality is that few, if any, ever saw a doctor at the VA Carl Hayden hospital in Phoenix. And it is known that at least 40 veterans died as a result of this.
But it was not limited to the Phoenix VA Hayden hospital, but it is the worst.
According to this article in USA Today, scheduling delays and trying to cover up the delays are systemic in the Phoenix VA hospital. The report says that 1,700 veterans are not on any waiting lists to set appointments at all even though they need to see doctors. And as bad are the 1,183 that are waiting more than six months just to see their primary care doctor.
And according to the Austin American-Statesman, the Central Texas VA was cooking the scheduling books to show appointments for screenings seemingly sooner than they really were. And there is an e-mail trail to prove that to be the case.
So why is this happening?
Because the hospitals all want the bonuses that they receive if the appointments are in a timely manner.
So why the delays? Especially to see primary care physicians?
Remember, the VA has been funded thoroughly. And of course, there is built-in budgeting for the potential bonuses.
This is but the tip of the iceberg on how the VA medical system operates.
My father in law literally fought the VA for 10+ years to get simple hearing aids. And he deserved them. He was in the navy during the Korean War and worked in the machine room/shop on the ships. As a result his hearing loss began then and the VA would not approve the hearing aids because they kept trying to suggest other reasons for his hearing loss. He could have probably attained the hearing aids through private insurance that he had. But he served his nation. He enlisted before the armed services could draft him. And he deserved them. Eventually, he did attain the hearing aids through the VA. But it was not an easy thing to do.
And the above tale ended about nine years ago.
So it is not anything new.
The way that the VA operates and treats veterans has long been a disgrace. It transcends presidential administrations, parties and ideologies.
But the scheduling scandal, that escalated under the Obama administration. And yes, it did so under the tenure of the now former VA secretary, Gen. Shinseki. But because a lot of other problems began long before Gen. Shinseki became VA secretary, this was just another layer and Gen. Shinseki proved to be a lousy civilian administrator.
But the good general's leaving under a cloud (FTR, Gen. Shinseki served his nation with pride and honor and deserves our respect for that) of scandal is not going to solve the scheduling problem.
Because the whole VA system needs massive overhaul. And that will take someone from outside the government and the armed forces to take on. It will need to have someone with a strong business background that can apply positive changes to the system that will benefit all veterans. It is a project that could take many years for a lot of these problems took years to fester and grow like a boil on a rear end.
This is a huge test for the Obama administration. The president is going to have to make some very tough decisions. There is no doubt that this is a defining moment. Does Team Obama want to make the kind of reforms that maybe unpopular at first, but extremely necessary? Can they bring in that outside person to seek the reforms and make the VA work for the veterans and not just the bureaucrats? Clearly this will not be the task of the caretaker secretary, Sloan D. Gibson.
The "resignation" of Gen. Shinseki does not change the fundamental fact that there needs to be a through investigation of the scheduling scandal and that may require a special congressional oversight.
The only thing that has changed? Gen. Eric Shinseki is the scapeboat and the biggest head to roll.
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Sen. Marco Rubio Speaks Truth About Red Cuba
I meant to write about this awesome speech on the senate floor by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in which he schools commie sympathizer, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Ia.) about his recent trip to Red Cuba and touting the socialist medicine as people like Sen. Harkin are wont to do.
Sen. Harkin gave a speech on the senate floor touting how wonderful life is in Red Cuba. No surprise there really. And what do you think was the starting point of life in Red Cuba?
What else but the wonders of government-ran and controlled health care. Remember, not only is health care "free", but so is medical school.
Quick thought here. The late Venezuela dictator President Hugo Chavez went to Red Cuba for medical treatment for his cancer that eventually killed him. I guess you get what you pay for with "free" health care.
I do not know how many more times I have to do this, but once again I must refer you to this post that I wrote way back in 2009 about the left's claim that health care is a "right". In that post I went to explain the truth of "free", government-controlled health care the real Cuban citizen has to endure. And also once again, I will link you to The Real Cuba and explaining what the real average Cuban citizen has to deal with in their paradisaical health care system.
I know that there are enough people saying that I am those who oppose the Castro family and their reign of terror are basically full of it. People like Sen. Harkin would probably be one of those. So I would ask those people and Sen. Harkin is this.
Am I really seeing a hospital or clinic that the average Cuban would get to go to? I have found this web site that shows this as the conditions most Cubans endure in health care delivery. What of it? Are there really separate facilities for the foreigners and the Communist party elite?
They are legitimate questions if you really want to know. See how the hosts respond and act accordingly.
I highlight the health care argument that the Castro-enablers like Sen. Harkin always trot out as a way to get chummy with the Red Cubans. We who oppose government-ran health care also point this out as an argument against such a program.
But I do recommend that you actually watch Sen. Rubio eviscerate the likes of Sen. Harkin right on the senate floor. If you can not, then do read the speech here at Hotair.com.
I know, I know, many of my fellow conservatives will cite Sen. Rubio and his role in trying to get something done on so-called "comprehensive" immigration reform. That is enough to turn you against him. Normally I would agree. But I think there was something for him to try to be a part of the negotiations. He, knowingly or unknowingly, showed the flaws of the so-called reform and he was the only one that wanted to try to get stricter enforcement. Without that, he walked away. Rightfully so. On that, I give him a pass for it has not come up again and that too is because he has not pushed it.
The speech shows the passion that is why Sen. Rubio caught my eye way back in 2010 when he announced his campaign for the United States senate. He was backed by the Tea Party and still today this is one of the best wins we had that year. The GOP establishment backed one Charlie Christ and poo-pooed Mr. Rubio. Oh yeah, note that Mr. Christ did not win the GOP nomination and ran and "independent" campaign for the senate seat. And lost. Mr. Rubio had 49% of the vote in a three-man race. And today, surprise, Mr. Christ is running for the Democrat nomination for governor.
Sen. Rubio gave one of the best speeches on the senate floor in years. No, it was not a filibuster or a long oratorical session. It was less than 15 minutes with minimal notes but facts on his side.
Sen. Rubio spoke the truth about Red Cuba and is a great voice for America in the United States senate.
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
CVS Drug Store To Stop Selling Tobacco Products
The CVS Caremark drug store chain has announced that they will no longer sell tobacco products by October of this year.
And to me, so what?
After all, CVS Caremark is a private and publicly traded company.
CVS Caremark is pursuing an aggressive strategy to become a major health care provider. After all, many CVS Caremark stores are known for their Minute Clinics in which a consumer can have some very basic medical needs taken care of.
And let's face it folks, tobacco is now pretty much considered an icky product. While yes, many people still smoke cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chew tobacco, it is one of the most discouraged products that is still legal.
So, what else does CVS Caremark sell that is icky to many people?
How about candy? Soda? A panoply of junk food?
Those are very easy marks, of course. But there are other items that some people find objectionable. Such as condoms, sexual lubricant. Some religious people at the very least would not like to see these items over the counter. Maybe with the other drug items that are behind the pharmacy counter.
The point is that there is a slight case of political correctness here.
It is easier to phase out a product like tobacco that is seen by the vast majority of people as, for lack of a better word, icky. But the other items I mentioned? Uh, not so much.
CVS Caremark is going to take an immediate hit of roughly $2,000,000,000 in revenue from tobacco sales. But they hope to make some of it up in tobacco cessation products. I'm going to take a guess and say that they will not make up all of that lost revenue. But it does refocus the chain from tobacco provider to strong cessation provider. And it may work with CVS Caremark. Maybe more people will obtain their prescriptions there and give them their overall business. After all, in a sense this is a new niche market.
But before people get worked up that it is another assault on smoker's rights, it is not.
Again, a private company can choose what they want to sell or not. And a publicly traded company does have an obligation to it's stockholders. So why continue carrying a product that is not exactly a good one such as tobacco? And one can get tobacco at other places. Smoking lounges are becoming a big deal. Especially cigar lounges. This is the possibility of where smoking is going. Into it's own niche market.
In the long run, CVS Caremark probably made the right decision as it is switching it's market. And it is possible that the items I named may also be phased out over time. Who knows?
But do not expect a wave of this kind of product removal. As long as people are willing to smoke and pay the price, economically and health-wise, there will be places that sell tobacco products.
For now, the removal of tobacco products is limited to CVS Caremark and it will take a while to determine if it is the right or wrong move.
And to me, so what?
After all, CVS Caremark is a private and publicly traded company.
CVS Caremark is pursuing an aggressive strategy to become a major health care provider. After all, many CVS Caremark stores are known for their Minute Clinics in which a consumer can have some very basic medical needs taken care of.
And let's face it folks, tobacco is now pretty much considered an icky product. While yes, many people still smoke cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chew tobacco, it is one of the most discouraged products that is still legal.
So, what else does CVS Caremark sell that is icky to many people?
How about candy? Soda? A panoply of junk food?
Those are very easy marks, of course. But there are other items that some people find objectionable. Such as condoms, sexual lubricant. Some religious people at the very least would not like to see these items over the counter. Maybe with the other drug items that are behind the pharmacy counter.
The point is that there is a slight case of political correctness here.
It is easier to phase out a product like tobacco that is seen by the vast majority of people as, for lack of a better word, icky. But the other items I mentioned? Uh, not so much.
CVS Caremark is going to take an immediate hit of roughly $2,000,000,000 in revenue from tobacco sales. But they hope to make some of it up in tobacco cessation products. I'm going to take a guess and say that they will not make up all of that lost revenue. But it does refocus the chain from tobacco provider to strong cessation provider. And it may work with CVS Caremark. Maybe more people will obtain their prescriptions there and give them their overall business. After all, in a sense this is a new niche market.
But before people get worked up that it is another assault on smoker's rights, it is not.
Again, a private company can choose what they want to sell or not. And a publicly traded company does have an obligation to it's stockholders. So why continue carrying a product that is not exactly a good one such as tobacco? And one can get tobacco at other places. Smoking lounges are becoming a big deal. Especially cigar lounges. This is the possibility of where smoking is going. Into it's own niche market.
In the long run, CVS Caremark probably made the right decision as it is switching it's market. And it is possible that the items I named may also be phased out over time. Who knows?
But do not expect a wave of this kind of product removal. As long as people are willing to smoke and pay the price, economically and health-wise, there will be places that sell tobacco products.
For now, the removal of tobacco products is limited to CVS Caremark and it will take a while to determine if it is the right or wrong move.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Obamacare Imploding Sooner Than Expected
I have been suggesting that Obamacare needed to go full steam ahead for one simple reason.
Because it would implode under the whole scheme of funding and its own unsustainability.
I figured that it would take longer, but I am beginning to think that the implosion has occurred sooner than I expected.
That implosion actually began on October 1, 2013 when the health insurance "marketplace" officially went online.
While I sympathized with Sens. Cruz and Lee wanting to simply defund O-Care, they did not get all on board long before the October deadline in which all Americans could go to www.healthcare.gov and easily plug in some information, compare many different plans and why sign-up with little if any problem. I got their righteous fear that health care in America would be destroyed forever. But sometimes, even when one is right, we have to simply burn it down. Let the law come into being to see just how bad it is.
Once again, I refer you the former House Speaker, Congressman Nancy Pelosi (Dim Wit-Cal) said about the need to pass the so-called Affordable Health Care Act:
“But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy.”
I will not torture you once again with video I used in another post. I think that goes against the Geneva convention or something like that.
Yes, the bill passed with not one single Republican vote in either chamber. And what we found out is this.
That they can not even begin and or run a functioning website, what is a huge feature of signing up people to purchase health insurance. We are reduced to seeing our president, the Dear Leader, President Obama, acting worse than a used car salesman all but begging people to get health insurance by phone or that old-fashioned, antiquated way. . .using paper applications!
It's not just an inoperable website. It is that once one goes beyond the home page to provide information, they have no privacy. Now I'm sorry, when I am providing a government website with my personal information, my personal health information, hell fricking yes they better go all out to insure that I have privacy. Which is why I go no further than the home page.
No I totally admit, I am not a computer genius. I can barely get the basics. But I know this much. If you are providing a website such as the "marketplace", I think that the people who operate www.amazon.com would be awesome to bring on to set up the website. Or what about the people at Progressive car insurance? One of their claims is that you can compare policy rates between them and other car insurance companies. Why how do they do that?!
So why should any American that is signing up, some to avoid paying any fines not having health insurance and some because they have not had health insurance for whatever reason, trust that they will even get the insurance that they have signed up for?
Again, while the website is the most pressing issue now, the real issue is the unrealistic basis on how this whole scheme works.
The goal is to sign up 7,000,000 Americans at least by the time that the deadline comes into being. Out of that will be about 2,500,000 healthy, young Americans. The target demographic is 18-34 year olds. A problem is that as part of the original legislation, anyone 18-26 years old can stay on their parents health insurance. Again, I ask the question that if their parents have health insurance and they ask their kids if they want to stay on or get their own, how many are going to turn it down? You are taking a huge chunk of people out of the pool for very few will opt in. After all, why should they? The reality is that the overwhelming majority of those that will sign up, if they can, will be people that have preexisting conditions or the elderly that could not afford the insurance in the first place.
And that my friends will lead to the Death Spiral.
To put it simply, much of the cost of O-Care to implement will be put on the backs of the young and healthy. Many who will not participate unless they absolutely have to. The following is from the Forbes article I linked:
The actuaries make educated estimates and decide on a premium. But they won’t have “experience”—actual utilization rates—for a year or 18 months. If they get a disproportionate number of sick people in the pool, which ObamaCare is designed to do, premiums will rise. That increase usually drives the healthiest people out of the pool, looking for lower rates to match their healthier condition. The pool gets smaller and sicker, forcing up the rates again, driving out the next wave of people, and so on, until the insurance pool is very small, very sick and very expensive.
That’s the death spiral.
And that is pretty much why O-Care will totally implode. The writer, Merrill Matthews, sums it up very nicely:
Summing up, getting the young and healthy to sign up for ObamaCare will only be the first challenge. Getting them to stay, once they find out just how unaffordable the Affordable Care Act is, will be an even bigger hurdle.
But won't many of the young and healthy be subsidized by the federal government in the first place?
Yes, that is correct.
But again, one of the monumental problems with the infamous website is determining the information that will determine the subsidy. There have been reports of how a lot of that information is wrong and thus an accurate subsidy may not materialize.
Let me write it bluntly if I may.
The whole scam was based on rainbows and unicorns.
At least rainbows are real.
With an unworkable website, a plan that bases costs unrealistically on young, healthy people, and just the rank incompetence of those behind O-Care, it is on the road of implosion sooner than expected.
Because it would implode under the whole scheme of funding and its own unsustainability.
I figured that it would take longer, but I am beginning to think that the implosion has occurred sooner than I expected.
That implosion actually began on October 1, 2013 when the health insurance "marketplace" officially went online.
While I sympathized with Sens. Cruz and Lee wanting to simply defund O-Care, they did not get all on board long before the October deadline in which all Americans could go to www.healthcare.gov and easily plug in some information, compare many different plans and why sign-up with little if any problem. I got their righteous fear that health care in America would be destroyed forever. But sometimes, even when one is right, we have to simply burn it down. Let the law come into being to see just how bad it is.
Once again, I refer you the former House Speaker, Congressman Nancy Pelosi (Dim Wit-Cal) said about the need to pass the so-called Affordable Health Care Act:
“But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy.”
I will not torture you once again with video I used in another post. I think that goes against the Geneva convention or something like that.
Yes, the bill passed with not one single Republican vote in either chamber. And what we found out is this.
That they can not even begin and or run a functioning website, what is a huge feature of signing up people to purchase health insurance. We are reduced to seeing our president, the Dear Leader, President Obama, acting worse than a used car salesman all but begging people to get health insurance by phone or that old-fashioned, antiquated way. . .using paper applications!
It's not just an inoperable website. It is that once one goes beyond the home page to provide information, they have no privacy. Now I'm sorry, when I am providing a government website with my personal information, my personal health information, hell fricking yes they better go all out to insure that I have privacy. Which is why I go no further than the home page.
No I totally admit, I am not a computer genius. I can barely get the basics. But I know this much. If you are providing a website such as the "marketplace", I think that the people who operate www.amazon.com would be awesome to bring on to set up the website. Or what about the people at Progressive car insurance? One of their claims is that you can compare policy rates between them and other car insurance companies. Why how do they do that?!
So why should any American that is signing up, some to avoid paying any fines not having health insurance and some because they have not had health insurance for whatever reason, trust that they will even get the insurance that they have signed up for?
Again, while the website is the most pressing issue now, the real issue is the unrealistic basis on how this whole scheme works.
The goal is to sign up 7,000,000 Americans at least by the time that the deadline comes into being. Out of that will be about 2,500,000 healthy, young Americans. The target demographic is 18-34 year olds. A problem is that as part of the original legislation, anyone 18-26 years old can stay on their parents health insurance. Again, I ask the question that if their parents have health insurance and they ask their kids if they want to stay on or get their own, how many are going to turn it down? You are taking a huge chunk of people out of the pool for very few will opt in. After all, why should they? The reality is that the overwhelming majority of those that will sign up, if they can, will be people that have preexisting conditions or the elderly that could not afford the insurance in the first place.
And that my friends will lead to the Death Spiral.
To put it simply, much of the cost of O-Care to implement will be put on the backs of the young and healthy. Many who will not participate unless they absolutely have to. The following is from the Forbes article I linked:
The actuaries make educated estimates and decide on a premium. But they won’t have “experience”—actual utilization rates—for a year or 18 months. If they get a disproportionate number of sick people in the pool, which ObamaCare is designed to do, premiums will rise. That increase usually drives the healthiest people out of the pool, looking for lower rates to match their healthier condition. The pool gets smaller and sicker, forcing up the rates again, driving out the next wave of people, and so on, until the insurance pool is very small, very sick and very expensive.
That’s the death spiral.
And that is pretty much why O-Care will totally implode. The writer, Merrill Matthews, sums it up very nicely:
Summing up, getting the young and healthy to sign up for ObamaCare will only be the first challenge. Getting them to stay, once they find out just how unaffordable the Affordable Care Act is, will be an even bigger hurdle.
But won't many of the young and healthy be subsidized by the federal government in the first place?
Yes, that is correct.
But again, one of the monumental problems with the infamous website is determining the information that will determine the subsidy. There have been reports of how a lot of that information is wrong and thus an accurate subsidy may not materialize.
Let me write it bluntly if I may.
The whole scam was based on rainbows and unicorns.
At least rainbows are real.
With an unworkable website, a plan that bases costs unrealistically on young, healthy people, and just the rank incompetence of those behind O-Care, it is on the road of implosion sooner than expected.
My Date With Angiogram
No, not THAT kind of date! Besides, I am a married man!
The date that I am writing about is my date getting an angiogram this past Tuesday.
I have been having some medical issues lately and as part of making a determination, my regular doctor referred me to a cardiologist. As he put it, to rule every possibility out.
So about three and a half weeks ago I went to the cardiologist. After he did the routine questions and a short exam, he asked if I had an echocardiagram in the last five years and I have. So he suggested that I should have the angiogram based on family history.
My mother, God rest her soul, had a heart attack before I was 10 years old. And two more after that and a stroke for good measure. Eventually 20 years ago on November 1, 1993, her heart finally gave out. And one other thing that piqued the doc's curiosity was that she was also Type 2 diabetic.
So I agreed to the procedure. The nurse explained the bare basics of what would happen.
I got the call from the doctor's office last week that this past Tuesday was open at 1:30pm. I kind of hemmed and hawed because Mrs. RVFTLC and I were going to the local apple country, Oak Glen, California that day. But I realized that this was important to do. So I made the appointment.
And being a good little patient, and having the best wife, we showed up at Arcadia Methodist Hospital right across the street from the Santa Anita race track. No, I did not stop off and place a bet before the procedure. Besides, the track was not open and I was with Mrs. RVFTLC, not a fan of playing the ponies.
I came in the bare minimum of a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops for I knew that I would have to change in one of those lovely hospital gowns. Why are they called gowns?! Anyhow, after a very pleasant registration process, a nice young hospital volunteer took me to the pre-op observation center. And Mrs. RVFTLC could be there with me which made a sort of disconcerting situation less so. And it did not take long to go from my civvies to the gown. BLEECH! To me, it was the mark of humiliation. Then a lot of the prep work began. The IV needle, gage as the nurse called it, was placed in my hand and then some blood was drawn. After that, the IV packet was all tubed up and I had to wait. And wait. And wait. After a while the nurse came back and explained that in their testing of the blood, I was low on potassium. And they had to give me some before they could proceed. OK, in comes another pouch. To be honest, it kind of looked like urine. Seriously. But the nurse explained that they would just feed the potassium through the IV and it would be going in at the same time. And she warned that it might hurt. And she was not kidding. It was painful for the rest of the time in the pre-op room. At that point the nurse asked if I wanted to watch TV. Of course, why not. But I figured it would just be the local channels. That is was it was my last hospital visit. But to my happy surprise, there was cable. And yes, even Fox News Channel. HOORAAY! So I was able to watch that and rail about health care all in the joys of Arcadia Methodist Hospital!
Enduring the pain of nutrients and medicine going through a vein on top of my left hand, it seemed like forever before the nurse said that I was about to go to finally take the test. After taking a mild sedative, some short dude came in to tell me he was taking me to the testing room. Then I was able to walk from the bed in pre-op to the gurney. Rather uncomfortable one at that. And to be honest, I kind of wondered if this guy was going to be able to transport me to the basement of the hospital. But he was in pretty good shape. He had no trouble. We got into the bowels of the hospital and I felt more that I was suddenly on a movie set. And I was able to get a good look at the attendant and he was pretty buff. It made me feel better that he was able to wheel my 250 thereabout girth all over the hospital.
But I still had to go from the gurney and I was placed on to an even narrower one. And that is where the magic of the angiogram was to take place.
A nurse, a through male nurse, explained everything he was doing. First the numbing agent was being applied to my right groin area. A little on the left side. But mostly on my right groin. Then he said a slightly stronger sedative was being connected to my IV tube. That replaced the potassium and was much less painful. And yeah, I felt no pain in just a little bit. No, I did not go to sleep. I was awake throughout. Then the catheter was being put in by the doctor. He did his thing and was able to determine quickly that I had not only no arterial blockages but that my heart muscle was very strong.
I was so glad to hear that news.
As it turned out, the whole time I spent in the basement was about 40 minutes if I remember right. Then I had to find out I was nowhere near done. I was being wheeled to a private room and would have to stay several hours. That is the way it is for the procedure. Because they do use a dye to determine if there are blocked arteries, one has to stay at least three to four hours getting a lot more IV juice and in my case, eating.
What a surprise!
I was able to snag a hospital dinner out of the day. I had not had anything but a couple of small containers of Jello at 6:30am. It was already 7pm. Now mind you, it was hospital food, but I was hungry. so I ate all of the chicken, taters, rice, graham crackers, pudding and an orange all topped off with apple juice and a lot of water.
Water is very important to drink because one must be able to urinate to flush a lot of the dye out of the system. I had a lot to drink. Eventually I was helped by a lovely nurse's assistant to the restroom. And to add to more humiliation, she said that I had to do my business in a bottle because they had to measure how much I went. So I did. And did. And did. when I was finally done, I filled 28 ounces of a 32 ounce bottle. Amazed the NA and the nurse. That sped up the check-out and I finally was done at about 10pm. A total of nine hours for about a 40 minute procedure.
But it is necessary. To do the prep and post time. Even as I type this, my right groin is very sore. And I also have a strange burning sensation just below my bandaged area.
Super, super kudos to all the staff of Arcadia Methodist Hospital. Not only were they professional but very nice and made me feel like I was the only patient in the hospital.
I usually do not like to write such things, personal things especially dealing with my own health. But I think it is important enough to advise that if you do think you have something not right and it is the heart, make your cardiologist give this test. For many people it has been a lifesaver.
As for me, my date with angiogram turned out to be, thanks be to God, piece of mind.
The date that I am writing about is my date getting an angiogram this past Tuesday.
I have been having some medical issues lately and as part of making a determination, my regular doctor referred me to a cardiologist. As he put it, to rule every possibility out.
So about three and a half weeks ago I went to the cardiologist. After he did the routine questions and a short exam, he asked if I had an echocardiagram in the last five years and I have. So he suggested that I should have the angiogram based on family history.
My mother, God rest her soul, had a heart attack before I was 10 years old. And two more after that and a stroke for good measure. Eventually 20 years ago on November 1, 1993, her heart finally gave out. And one other thing that piqued the doc's curiosity was that she was also Type 2 diabetic.
So I agreed to the procedure. The nurse explained the bare basics of what would happen.
I got the call from the doctor's office last week that this past Tuesday was open at 1:30pm. I kind of hemmed and hawed because Mrs. RVFTLC and I were going to the local apple country, Oak Glen, California that day. But I realized that this was important to do. So I made the appointment.
And being a good little patient, and having the best wife, we showed up at Arcadia Methodist Hospital right across the street from the Santa Anita race track. No, I did not stop off and place a bet before the procedure. Besides, the track was not open and I was with Mrs. RVFTLC, not a fan of playing the ponies.
I came in the bare minimum of a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops for I knew that I would have to change in one of those lovely hospital gowns. Why are they called gowns?! Anyhow, after a very pleasant registration process, a nice young hospital volunteer took me to the pre-op observation center. And Mrs. RVFTLC could be there with me which made a sort of disconcerting situation less so. And it did not take long to go from my civvies to the gown. BLEECH! To me, it was the mark of humiliation. Then a lot of the prep work began. The IV needle, gage as the nurse called it, was placed in my hand and then some blood was drawn. After that, the IV packet was all tubed up and I had to wait. And wait. And wait. After a while the nurse came back and explained that in their testing of the blood, I was low on potassium. And they had to give me some before they could proceed. OK, in comes another pouch. To be honest, it kind of looked like urine. Seriously. But the nurse explained that they would just feed the potassium through the IV and it would be going in at the same time. And she warned that it might hurt. And she was not kidding. It was painful for the rest of the time in the pre-op room. At that point the nurse asked if I wanted to watch TV. Of course, why not. But I figured it would just be the local channels. That is was it was my last hospital visit. But to my happy surprise, there was cable. And yes, even Fox News Channel. HOORAAY! So I was able to watch that and rail about health care all in the joys of Arcadia Methodist Hospital!
Enduring the pain of nutrients and medicine going through a vein on top of my left hand, it seemed like forever before the nurse said that I was about to go to finally take the test. After taking a mild sedative, some short dude came in to tell me he was taking me to the testing room. Then I was able to walk from the bed in pre-op to the gurney. Rather uncomfortable one at that. And to be honest, I kind of wondered if this guy was going to be able to transport me to the basement of the hospital. But he was in pretty good shape. He had no trouble. We got into the bowels of the hospital and I felt more that I was suddenly on a movie set. And I was able to get a good look at the attendant and he was pretty buff. It made me feel better that he was able to wheel my 250 thereabout girth all over the hospital.
But I still had to go from the gurney and I was placed on to an even narrower one. And that is where the magic of the angiogram was to take place.
A nurse, a through male nurse, explained everything he was doing. First the numbing agent was being applied to my right groin area. A little on the left side. But mostly on my right groin. Then he said a slightly stronger sedative was being connected to my IV tube. That replaced the potassium and was much less painful. And yeah, I felt no pain in just a little bit. No, I did not go to sleep. I was awake throughout. Then the catheter was being put in by the doctor. He did his thing and was able to determine quickly that I had not only no arterial blockages but that my heart muscle was very strong.
I was so glad to hear that news.
As it turned out, the whole time I spent in the basement was about 40 minutes if I remember right. Then I had to find out I was nowhere near done. I was being wheeled to a private room and would have to stay several hours. That is the way it is for the procedure. Because they do use a dye to determine if there are blocked arteries, one has to stay at least three to four hours getting a lot more IV juice and in my case, eating.
What a surprise!
I was able to snag a hospital dinner out of the day. I had not had anything but a couple of small containers of Jello at 6:30am. It was already 7pm. Now mind you, it was hospital food, but I was hungry. so I ate all of the chicken, taters, rice, graham crackers, pudding and an orange all topped off with apple juice and a lot of water.
Water is very important to drink because one must be able to urinate to flush a lot of the dye out of the system. I had a lot to drink. Eventually I was helped by a lovely nurse's assistant to the restroom. And to add to more humiliation, she said that I had to do my business in a bottle because they had to measure how much I went. So I did. And did. And did. when I was finally done, I filled 28 ounces of a 32 ounce bottle. Amazed the NA and the nurse. That sped up the check-out and I finally was done at about 10pm. A total of nine hours for about a 40 minute procedure.
But it is necessary. To do the prep and post time. Even as I type this, my right groin is very sore. And I also have a strange burning sensation just below my bandaged area.
Super, super kudos to all the staff of Arcadia Methodist Hospital. Not only were they professional but very nice and made me feel like I was the only patient in the hospital.
I usually do not like to write such things, personal things especially dealing with my own health. But I think it is important enough to advise that if you do think you have something not right and it is the heart, make your cardiologist give this test. For many people it has been a lifesaver.
As for me, my date with angiogram turned out to be, thanks be to God, piece of mind.
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